Dominion Volunteers Pitch In To Help Environment
In Nine States From Texas To Connecticut
RICHMOND, Va. -- From
Texas to Connecticut, Dominion employees in nine states are pulling on work
gloves and heading out to parks and natural areas this fall as part of the company's
third "Putting Our Energy to Work for the Environment" campaign.
More than 750 employees are participating in the daylong projects
that target clean up, repair and construction projects at parks and natural
areas in communities where Dominion operates. The projects began Sept. 20 in
Houston, Texas, and Oklahoma City, Okla., and will conclude in mid-October in
New London, Conn.
In addition, a tree will be planted at each of the sites in
remembrance of the victims and heroes of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
"Once again Dominion employees are demonstrating their
personal commitment to protecting the environment in a very tangible and specific
way," said Thos. E. Capps, chairman, president and chief executive officer.
"Dominion is proud of our employee initiative and the partnership we have
with our communities as together we continue to make environmental protection
and stewardship a top priority."
This year, the overall effort was expanded to nine states
from eight last year and five in 2000, and 15 projects compared to 13 last year
and seven in 2000. The number of Dominion volunteers has grown to 750 from 400
in 2000 to 650 last year. Projects selected by employees include restoring a
greenhouse for educational use, building a pedestrian bridge to access an educational
area, removing debris to beautify a city entrance, planting native plants and
clearing trails near a pond.
The Dominion Foundation is supporting employees' volunteer
efforts by donating $2,500 per project for supplies and materials.
The projects are:
Virginia
Hoffler Creek Wildlife Preserve, Portsmouth -- October
15
Volunteers will be building an outdoor pavilion to enhance the center's outdoors
educational program. (Media contact: Chuck
Penn, 757-857-2700)
Lake Anna State Park, Spotsylvania -- October 15
Partnering with the Virginia Department of Forestry, volunteers will stabilize
a shoreline using cabled cedar revetments and coconut fiber logs. This project
would be used as a demonstration project to show lake property owners shoreline
restoration techniques. (Media contact: Rick
Zuercher, 804-273-3825)
Summer Hill Elementary School, Richmond -- September
25
Volunteers will be restoring a greenhouse and creating an outdoor learning laboratory
in the school's courtyard, dubbed "Our Atrium for Education." (Media
contact: David Botkins,
804-771-6115)
Temple Hall Farm Regional Park, Leesburg -- September
26
Volunteers will build a bridge so visitors can access an interpretive area,
plant trees and clear brush. (Media contact: Le-Ha
Anderson, 703-591-1201)
North Carolina
4-H Environmental Education Conference Center, Columbia
-- September 26
Volunteers will be building a gazebo to enhance outdoors educational opportunities.
(Media contact: Chuck
Penn, 757-857-2700)
Ohio
Canton Development Partnership, Canton -- September
24
Volunteers will beautify the entrance to Canton from the northern gateway and
will remove concrete, debris and unusable topsoil. (Media contact: Neil
Durbin, 216-736-6239)
Slavic Village/Mill Creek Falls History Center, Cleveland
-- September 25
For the second year, volunteers will be working to beautify the Mill Creek Falls
area. Volunteers will be clearing and landscaping a vacant lot at the corner
of Warner and Turner Roads. (Media contact: Neil
Durbin, 216-736-6239)
Pennsylvania
Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh
-- September 26
Volunteers will be working on pond restoration at the Beechwood Farms Nature
Reserve, which is the headquarters of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania.
Volunteers will be planting native plants and clearing trails. (Media contact:
Elmore Lockley,
412-392-2467)
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, DuBois -- October 4
Volunteers will build a deck around the educational building at the Pennsylvania
Game Commission Elk View site, stain the education pavilion and seating area,
and general site cleanup. (Media contact: Elmore
Lockley, 412-392-2467)
West Virginia
Mt. Storm Public Boat Launch Area, Bismark -- September
25
Volunteers will build a floating dock and upgrade a path for scuba divers to
access the lake. (Media contact: Bob
Fulton, 304-627-3200)
West Virginia Raptor Rehabilitation Center, Fairmont
-- September 24
Volunteers will prepare habitats to attract indigenous wildlife, correct soil
erosion and plant shrubs. (Media contact: Bob
Fulton, 304-627-3200)
Texas
Melrose Park, Houston -- September 20
Partnering with Houston Parks, volunteers will be painting the community center
that was damaged by Tropical Storm Allison in the fall of 2001. (Media contact:
Peggy Cole, 504-593-7301
Louisiana
Parkway Partners, New Orleans -- September 26
Volunteers will build raised beds and walkways, plant a variety of flowering
and vegetable-bearing plants to create a community demonstration garden. (Media
contact: Peggy Cole
504-593-7301)
Oklahoma
Keep Edmund Beautiful, Oklahoma City -- September 20
Working with Parkway Partners, Dominion volunteers will work at several sites.
At Mitch Park, volunteers will be painting four buildings. At the Edmond Round-up
Club Arena, volunteers will work on bleachers to make them more sturdy and safe.
At Hafer Park, volunteers will be painting several picnic pavilions. (Media
contact: Peggy Cole
504-593-7301)
Connecticut
New London -- mid-October
Millstone Power Station employees will plan an environmental project in New
London. The project should occur in mid-October, after the scheduled refueling
outage concludes. (Media contact: Peter
Hyde, 860-440-4497)
Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers of energy,
with a production capability of more than 3 trillion British thermal units of
energy per day. Dominion also serves more than 3.8 million franchise natural
gas and electric customers in five states. For more information about Dominion,
visit the company's Web site at www.dom.com.
